I was thinking … I really like the book “Love and Respect” and the concept that men really do need a wife’s respect. Yet it seems so challenging to give such. Some brides tend to badger him to become what she wants rather than enjoy who he is. He doesn’t feel respected when she is constantly shaking her finger at him to be different. To some brides, the husband hasn’t behaved in a manner deserving her respect. Yet brides are called to respect their husbands position not what he does or how he does it but because he is the head of the house ordained by God.  When brides step out in faith and trust God, He blesses even the smallest obedience (Psalm 18:20). See more in Brides Psalm 110. How do you show respect when he doesn’t deserve it?

Psalm 110:1 (NAS) What do they see?

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."

This psalm is a glorious reminder that God is sovereign and that our call is to be holy. “Sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes.” A. W. Pink.

For brides, the desire to be holy is displayed in the manner in which we “fit into our own husband’s ways.” This is the command for brides. The unsaved neighbor watches the Christian wife to see if she is different. What do they see?

1 Peter 3:1,5,6 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

Titus 2:5 …to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Colossians 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22,24,33b Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything…and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

To some brides, the husband hasn’t behaved in a manner deserving her respect. Brides are called to respect their husbands position not what he does or how he does it but because he is the head of the house ordained by God.  When brides step out in faith and trust God, He blesses even the smallest obedience (Psalm 18:20).

I ask myself:

1. Do I show him respect even when I don’t feel like it or he doesn’t deserve it?

2. Is my marriage a good example to my neighbors? What can I do to change?

3. What is one thing I know would make his homecoming more pleasant? I’ll start there.

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

Psalm 109:1,22,40 (NAS)

O God of my praise, do not be silent! For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; And in the midst of many I will praise Him.

When others slander our character, how should we respond? As sad as the offense is, we will give an answer for our responses, not the accuser’s actions. This Psalm is telling us to let God take vengeance for us and for us to remain obedient.

John Calvin said, “No greater injury can be inflicted upon men than to wound their reputation.”

During the times of attack, we make choices.

· We can pray and commit the injustice to God and ask Him to deal with the person. We can choose to act rather than delay and choose to heal rather than wound.

· We can practice patience while giving God time to act. God is long-suffering with us. We show long-suffering by choosing to love rather than hate and by choosing to smile rather than frown.

· We can praise God that we are growing in trust in Him and His ways. We can choose to persevere rather than quit. We can choose to build rather than destroy. We can choose to give rather than grasp. We can choose to praise rather than gossip.

· We can give God glory as it comes to pass and we realize He worked in it. We can choose to forgive rather than curse; hence, we can choose to obey rather than despair.

I ask myself:

1. Have I preserved dignity for my husband’s name? Have I made good choices?

2. Have I waited, relaxed, to see how God would resolve the slander? Or, did I retaliate?

3. Have I prayed diligently for my husband and for those who slander his character? Have I told him I love him?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

Psalm 108:1 (NAS) A choice to praise.

My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

Praising God becomes a way of life. While we offer this praise for God and who He is, we can trust Him to work in our lives in a way that is best for us. Trusting the Lord doesn’t naively explain away our problems or make them less than they are. It gives hope because He is faithful.

As brides, we moment by moment make a choice to obey and follow God or to disobey and follow the world. In this life we will have trouble. We don’t live in God’s world. We live in the evil one’s world, and we are affected by it. We must have ‘unsinkable faith’ as Steve Lawson titles this psalm in his commentary. Thomas Watson says, “Where reason cannot wade, there faith may swim.” We keep on keeping-on because we trust the God who purchased our redemption with His life. In the midst of challenge, God is faithful. We can trust Him.

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

· God is faithful to help us encourage our husband with his unique needs and gives the grace to meet those needs.

· God is faithful to help us meet his physical needs and deal with his temperament and enables us to work with them.

· God is faithful to help when we face a seemingly impossible task and gives the ability to accomplish that task.

God cannot fail. Even once! What security, what peace and confidence to obey and praise Him even in the challenges of our marriage. Praise God for His faithfulness.

I ask myself:

1. Have I praised God for His faithfulness in my marriage this week?

2. Have I encouraged my husband, met his physical needs, trusted Him in the impossible task, and told him every day that I love him?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

Psalm 107:1 (NAS) God’s goodness.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

“If I could write as I would about the goodness of God to me, the ink would boil in my pen!” Francis Havergal

Steve Lawson in his commentary on the Psalms says that Psalm 107 is a stirring exhortation to praise the Lord for His unfailing goodness toward His people.

God is good in spiritual, physical and emotional gifts. He is good in all things. Seventeen times this psalm reminds us that He did something good.

In God’s goodness, one of the things He gave us is our marriage. In our discomfort, we forget that this man we call husband was given to us as a good gift to help mold us into the likeness of Christ. God Himself will use him to polish and chip away at us until we sparkle like a diamond. God is using our husband as His tool. That should motivate us to listen and thank Him.

We make a choice to “fit into his ways” not because he deserves it and not because we feel like it. We “fit” because it is forming us to be more Christ-like. It isn’t a mistake that we have the husband we have. We are his tailor-made helpmate. He is God’s tool to make us more like Him.

Every morning her husband takes her hands and prays for her day. In this prayer he always asks God to “bless his sweet wife.” Knowing her own sinful thinking and the discontentment within her heart, one morning she said; “I wish you would pray for me sometime.” He was startled and replied, “I do.” She said, “No, you pray for your sweet wife, and I don’t know who she is.” We may desire that he change and treat us a certain way, but we also know the wretchedness within our own behavior which stems from what is in our hearts.  Matthew 12:34-37 … out of the abundance of the    heart …

I ask myself:

1. Would my husband say I am sweet? Why or why not?

2. How often do I thank God for His tool (my husband) and show him I love him?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

I was thinking … Every morning my husband takes my hands and prays for my day. In this prayer he always (no exaggeration) asks God to “bless his sweet wife.” I know my own sinful thinking and the discontentment within my heart, one morning after his prayer, I said; “I wish you would pray for me sometime.” He was startled and replied, “I do.” I said, “No, you pray for your sweet wife, and I don’t know who she is.” Oh I am so wretched. I know my heart but God says I really don’t know my heart and it’s evilness within. I so desire that I change.  Matthew 12:34-37 … out of the abundance of the heart … I was thinking … I need a lot of changing. Read more in Brides Psalm 107. This Psalm brings me to tears. What about you?

I was thinking … I am so quick to wish for this or that. Charles R. Swindoll said, “The good life exists only when we stop wanting a better one. The itch for things is a virus draining the soul of contentment.” I do want to be content. I think much of my discontentment comes when I look around. My real contentment comes when I look up. My desire is to be content in all areas. As I have grown older, I have learned to look up much quicker. I am grateful. It helps me to go quickly to the Scripture and focus on what the Lord has done for me. What do you do? Psalm 106 is a good place to begin. See more in Brides.

Psalm 106:1 (NAS)

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Mathew Henry in his commentary says that none of our sins or sufferings should prevent our ascribing glory and praise to the Lord. The more unworthy we are, the more is His kindness to be admired. And as we depend on the Redeemer’s righteousness, we will strive to copy His example, and by word and deed show forth His praise. We have reason to be cheerful people; and we do not need to envy other wives their pleasure or pride.

Many times in our marriage we clothe ourselves in robes of discontentment and robes of jealousy and envy at what we see our neighbors and unsaved friends have in their marriage. We have what they don’t have and that is the joy and blessing of living eternally with Christ our Lord and Savior. That is an awesome picture of a beautiful future for us.

Charles R. Swindoll said, “The good life exists only when we stop wanting a better one. The itch for things is a virus draining the soul of contentment.”

May we be content with a daily steady effort to grow into Christ’s likeness, and to do Christ’s work quietly and inconspicuously, and to be that example to a hurting world that God is alive and that He is alive in our marriage.

As Christian servants we serve as unto the Lord and not for men. Our reward comes from Him. In all our lives we are to glorify Him. Yes, even when we are cleaning our homes, shopping, or eating and speaking and participating in whatever event.

I ask myself:

1. How am I growing into Christ-likeness and in practicing contentment?

2. How can I show my husband I am content in our home and with what he has provided?

3. How many ways can I show him I love him?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

I was thinking … It seems that as brides our main weakness is a sense of loneliness. More brides tell me of their loneliness than almost any other concern. Of course we know we all need to be daily pursuing becoming more like Christ and if we are doing this we will not be lonely. However, for brides who gave her hand – and heart – to the man of her dreams to care for her and love her for the rest of her life, it can become a lonely life when he seemingly isn’t doing this. She comes into marriage with great expectations. Then she greets the pitfalls. This is a psychological pitfall. Brides are more loving, more emotional, more subjective, more dependent and more sensitive to human loneliness. We experience a greater need for interpersonal relationships. Ahhhhhhhhhhh God is good and we can trust Him to care for all our experiences of loneliness. God is good. See more in Psalm 37

I was thinking … A lot happens in a few weeks. Life goes so quickly. In reading Psalm 105 I am reminded that I am to be stirred up and ready to trust God on every turn in my daily life. I have been wondering how this works out in my marriage? Have you? How do we take the Psalms and apply them diligently to our feet in walking this path called marriage? One way I have considered this in living in harmony with my sweetheart of many many years is to be quiet while I wait for his reply. Oh so challenging. Is it for you? Sometimes I am too quick to give my opinion and get a bit irritated if he doesn’t think the same. Oh me of little patience. My sin is so revealed in my attitude of loving my husband. I ask myself often, “ Am I a loving wife?” Sometimes I think to much. Do you? See more in Brides today in Psalm 105.